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Texas teacher's new homework policy goes viral on social media
ABC News ^ | August 22, 2016

Posted on 08/23/2016 3:43:43 AM PDT by Zakeet

A teacher in Fort Worth has gone viral after she sent home a note to parents outlining her new homework policy for the year.

In the note, Mrs. Brandy Young says, "After much research this summer, I am trying something new. Homework will only consist of work that your student did not finish during the school day. There will be no formally assigned homework this year."

[Snip]

The note ends: "Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance. Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child early to bed."

(Excerpt) Read more at walb.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: education; fortworth; homework; selfesteem
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To: Zakeet

Homework used to be the time when the kid gets to practice what he learned during the school day, and build upon it.

Nowadays, homework is nothing more than regurgitation that requires no thinking and understanding whatsoever and as such, it is basically useless. In that sense, I agree with this teacher.

You don’t become a great athlete by watching football games on TV. You don’t become a great musician by watching music videos. You don’t become a great writer by composing texts.

Physical exercise makes your body stronger. Mental exercise makes your mind stronger.

Both forms of exercise are what kids need to discover what they are capable of doing, and that is exactly what education is supposed to be doing.


101 posted on 08/23/2016 6:04:16 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (Hey now baby, get into my big black car, I just want to show you what my politics are.)
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To: Zakeet

I’m not apposed to homework in general - kids need to hone the skills they learned through practice and repetition.

The thing I HAVE learned, from my home-school friends, is how much time is WASTED in public schools every day. Kids do not need to be there 7 hours, as they are now. After paying attention to it, I see the point - so much time is wasted on useless courses, assembly, announcements, teacher dithering, and especially discipline and order in class.


102 posted on 08/23/2016 6:04:56 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: Bartholomew Roberts
He is not any different than the rest of his classmates. They all just learned how to budget their time

You are correct. So much of what kids learn and achieve is just about raising their expectations. Treat them like losers or delicate flowers - and thats how they will turn out.

103 posted on 08/23/2016 6:06:36 AM PDT by PGR88
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To: Zakeet

Awesome !!


104 posted on 08/23/2016 6:06:55 AM PDT by Scythian_Reborn
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To: Zakeet

Kids and their parents who have ambition will still put in the extra work. And those same students will be prepared for the demands of college, where “homework” (really dorm room and library stacks work) isn’t going away.


105 posted on 08/23/2016 6:16:40 AM PDT by katana
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To: pepsionice

We used to have “study hall”...at least in high school


106 posted on 08/23/2016 6:17:01 AM PDT by goodnesswins (Alinsky.....it's what's for dinner: with Cloward Piven for Dessert)
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To: relictele

” School is not an ideological day camp therefore you can leave out any ‘units’ on the joys of homosexuality, the dangers of climate change, and if my child so much as mentions white privilege one time you & I will be having a very early, unscheduled parent-teacher conference. Enjoy the school year.””

When my son was in high school, I was called to the guidance counselors office for a confab with the principal, vice principal, guidance counselor and the science teacher to discuss my son’s attitude. Apparently he questioned his science teacher about global warming. Simple question. “How much will it cost to fix and what happens if they cool the earth too much and we all freeze to death?”

The teacher didn’t like his attitude so they brought me in to have a “discussion” which really meant they wanted to suspend him. Sitting down, I asked the science teacher the same question and the response was, “well, we do not know these things at this time and it is very complicated.” I looked at the principal, said “she’s a moron, fire her or I am filing a lawsuit” and left.

My son was never bothered again.


107 posted on 08/23/2016 6:22:50 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (It appears as if Trump is our Yeltsin.)
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To: HartleyMBaldwin
That doesn’t really address my question, since even on e classroom would still be implementing the idea, if only on that scale.

Well that is what a test is. Implementing on a small scale and gathering data.

108 posted on 08/23/2016 6:39:50 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: Zakeet

I pretty much never did homework as a child, anyway. Couldn’t see the point of most of it, which nothing but make-work - repetitive drills and such. Drove my teachers crazy because when called on I could pretty much always give the answers. But I was quick learner - I suppose some kids probably need the extra practice.


109 posted on 08/23/2016 6:41:18 AM PDT by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like tractor.)
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To: Zakeet

“Let’s see, now. Which of these candidates do we hire? Priyanka and Rohit were first in their classes and obviously worked their butts off to achieve what they did. Or should we hire Bobby or Sue who ate dinner with their families every night and excelled at capturing lightning bugs?”


110 posted on 08/23/2016 6:56:38 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: -YYZ-

I should say that I barely even considered assigned reading of fiction, or even of sections of text books, to be homework. I loved reading and could quickly plough through anything assigned.

Sure, some things required repetition to memorize (like the times tables) or master (some mathematical techniques). Or spelling (another skill apparently no longer considered necessary).

Probably part of the problem was that I was insufficiently challenged in the earlier grades, and even for the most part in junior high and high school. I never developed much of a study habit, because I mostly never needed it. Probably the only courses in school that I found somewhat challenging were French (taken from grade 7 onwards, from grades 10 to 12 by my choice), as I’m not naturally gifted with languages, and honours mathematics in grades 10 and 11. The latter, particularly, was the first time I ever ran into anything that required significant effort on my part outside of class time to master the techniques and skills we were learning in class.

I wish I had been challenged like that a lot more in public school, because I was in for a rude surprise when I hit university. I did eventually learn how to stude on my own, but it took a while.

So I guess I’m not against homework, per se, but against homework that isn’t productive. Having a child spend time cranking through endless drills/worksheets on a subject that they have already mastered is not useful, and arguably harmful, as it can build resentment against the school system and their teachers.


111 posted on 08/23/2016 7:01:10 AM PDT by -YYZ- (Strong like bull, smart like tractor.)
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To: DaveA37

Lots of kids are spending time on their electronics and playing sports instead of studying. I can’t see how this is a good thing.


112 posted on 08/23/2016 7:01:37 AM PDT by caver (Obama: Home of the Whopper)
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To: Bullish
You damn well better make sure you hand out a single color of graduation cap, too. You don't want to bruise little Caitlin's fragile ego.
113 posted on 08/23/2016 7:01:38 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Zakeet

How can homework not help? Anything that reinforces what you have learned has to help. Yes, it is a long day in school, most of it wasted. There is very little serious work done. There is certainly no repetition of what is taught.

All of my child’s work is homework. She is homeschooled.


114 posted on 08/23/2016 7:03:46 AM PDT by rey
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To: southern rock

An 8 hour day is sufficiently for most adults.


115 posted on 08/23/2016 7:56:10 AM PDT by stocksthatgoup (Don't argue with a Liberal. Ask him simple questions and listen to him stutterThe media fix is in)
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To: NTHockey

You are fortunate to have been from a different culture—and not having TV or cell phones is certainly a large part of it.

I imagine because of the tendency to automatically pass people, half of the second gradesrs this teacher is dealing with still can’t really read. Probably not a problem that your second grade teacher had to deal with.


116 posted on 08/23/2016 8:38:40 AM PDT by Hieronymus ( (It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged. --G. K. Chesterton))
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To: Hot Tabasco

An applied subject matter like math usually requires more work outside the classroom than other subjects. My opposition to piles of homework really applies to young kids who are still learning basic life skills.


117 posted on 08/23/2016 9:48:57 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Sometimes I feel like I've been tied to the whipping post.")
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
In my field of work, Priyanka and Rohit would have finished school with exemplary academic records but no imagination. They probably would have ended up working for Bobby and Sue.

Even in many specialized professions, most of the skills required for success involve things that sports coaches call "intangibles."

118 posted on 08/23/2016 9:57:41 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Sometimes I feel like I've been tied to the whipping post.")
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To: -YYZ-
Good post. I would add this:

If a classroom full of kids is getting several hours of homework every night, I seriously question whether the teacher is even reviewing and grading the assignments well enough to make them worthwhile for the student.

119 posted on 08/23/2016 10:07:41 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Sometimes I feel like I've been tied to the whipping post.")
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To: Bullish
In fact, forget about that too. Just skip the whole school thing altogether. That learning stuff is just so old fashioned and outdated now by the new age, feelgood, "everyone is a winner" stuff anyway. Just give them all A's... No, better yet, give them all those little grad caps with the tassels and they'll feel really super about themselves.

Incredible...you have just described the NYC schools' philosophy. "Do things that LOOK like we're educating the students so we can't be blamed for their eventual failure." Teachers are constantly actively threatened by the administration for giving honest grades or in many cases, for documenting student absences, misbehaviors, or non-completion of work, so most just fall in and go along with passing students whose averages are in the 40s or even less. The NYC Bored of Ed is simply a criminal organization with City letterhead.

120 posted on 08/23/2016 10:33:01 AM PDT by EinNYC
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